Overview

• Hegseth defended the deployment of about 700 Marines and over 4,100 National Guard troops to protect federal buildings and personnel during immigration-related protests in Los Angeles.
• Acting Comptroller Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell estimated the 60-day operation’s $134 million price tag covers travel, housing and meals for the deployed forces.
• House appropriators warned that without detailed figures they will closely scrutinize the administration’s proposed $1 trillion defense budget and major projects such as the $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense system.
• Hegseth acknowledged that funding for Ukraine military assistance will be reduced in the upcoming budget and said the Pentagon is rethinking its drone defenses after Ukraine’s recent strike on Russian bomber aircraft.
• President Trump has left open the option of invoking the Insurrection Act for future domestic troop deployments, a possibility lawmakers pressed Hegseth to clarify.